Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory provision the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education makes to ensure that private higher education providers maintain minimum admission standards for undergraduate degrees and provide value for money.

The UK Quality Code, which the Quality Assurance Agency’s Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) uses to assess private providers, sets out the following expectations about recruitment, selection and admission to higher education:

“Recruitment, selection, and admission policies and procedures adhere to the principles of fair admission. They are transparent, reliable, valid, inclusive and underpinned by appropriate organisational structures and processes. They support higher education providers in the selection of students who are able to complete their programme.”

It is a condition of designation for student support that private providers maintain successful outcomes from these QAA reviews and annual monitoring. QAA's Concerns Scheme investigates specific concerns about the management of academic quality and standards, including recruitment, selection and admissions.